Posts by tag: Two Stroke

It's been a while since we've seen a Yamaha TZR250 3MA for sale, and the bike is both very rare and also a sportbike, so we're posting this one, even though it isn't in perfect condition. I'm a huge fan of this particular iteration of the TZR, because of course I'm a fan of the weird, slightly less-than-successful version of any bike. With competition very fierce in the 250cc sportbike class and specifications so similar, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and occasionally Kawasaki were all looking for a competitive advantage. The bikes all had aluminum beam frames, liquid-cooled two-stroke twins, and power valves to boost midrange. Light weight meant incredible agility and the triple disc brakes were almost overkill for the 300lb machines.

Although two-stroke engines are very compact, routing the bulky de rigueur expansion chambers meant design compromises: the typical quarter-liter solution meant asymmetrical "banana" style swingarms that looked cool and allowed the expansion chambers to tuck in close to the centerline and maximize cornering clearance, but added weight.

Yamaha had a different idea. Why not flip the cylinders of their parallel twin around 180° so that the carburetors were at the front and the exhausts exited toward the rear? Since two-strokes lack camshafts or valvetrain, this was pretty simple to do for the 3MA version, and meant there were no worries routing the exhaust and expansion chambers around the bike's lower half. Instead, they went straight back and out through the tail, creating a slight bulge in panels just below the seat.

The concept was sound but the bike was produced for just two years and is generally considered a failure, although its reputation for mechanical unreliability is apparently a bit of an exaggeration. It was light and handled brilliantly, but the reversed-cylinders offered no real advantage. A failed experiment, the bike was only officially sold in Japan, although the bike did find its way to parts of Europe as a parallel import.

This little TZR is a complete machine and appears to be original, but is a little scruffy around the edges, although it's hard to tell from the pics. I'm seeing the typical corrosion and discoloration you'd expect on a Japanese bike of this era, especially one that likely spent it's first few years in the salt air of its homeland.

Hi, Mike! This isn't my favorite color combo for this bike, but you can't go wrong with basic black. The $5,500 opening bid is probably in the ball park, but I wonder what the reserve is. TZRs are rare, but seem to generally be less desirable than NSRs. Personally I love the look and general weirdness of the 3MA, but there was no performance advantage for the backwards cylinders, and I've read that parts are harder to source than for earlier parallel twins or later 3XV v-twin TZRs. Basically, it's a cool bike, but it's the oddity and style that appeal most, and this one is a runner, but in need of a bit of cosmetic TLC.

Here is one that will appeal to riding collectors, a 1983 Yamaha RD500LC, more commonly known as the RZ500. Never brought into the states, this particular unit is listed as having been imported from Australia and appears to be excellent condition, although not 100% OEM.

Some readers may wonder why the RZ500 is prized by collectors. After all, 500cc isn't a lot of displacement by today's standards. But what is forgotten is that the 500cc two strokes dominated motorcycle racing for almost three decades. Due to the smaller engines, these bikes were fast. I mean really fast. Towards the end of the two stroke era companies were building two strokes that weighed about 130kgs (286lbs) and produced almost 200hp. It should perhaps not be surprising that these bikes developed nicknames such as "the Unrideables"... "Death on wheels"... "The biggest, baddest, most evil racing motorcycles ever to see a race track."

This California RZ has had a startling amount of improvements, engine rebuilt, intake, cooling, and exhaust systems either new or rebuilt, but the whopper is the set of late-model R6 forks and swingarm tailored for it. With refreshed drivetrain and 30-odd years of suspension and braking improvements aboard, this might be the 500 two-stroke experience without the age-related foibles of a "classic" superbike. Here is the owner's list from the eBay auction:

Obviously not meant for the display or museum, this is a rider's RZ. The experience of accelerating a 500cc two stroke cannot be replicated, and it's nice to know this one can brake and turn its way out of a jam. California registration is just the cherry on top. Occasionally you hear that a leading manufacturer should re-introduce their classic bike, sports or muscle car with some up-to-date technology - this might be the next best thing...

The issue with a lot of the little two-stroke terrors that we feature is that they're rare and often in museum-quality condition; original down to the pre-mix molecules. Not only is riding around on 20-year-old Dunlops a shame for a bike's originality, it's a pretty much guaranteed emergency room visit. So, too often the compulsion is to let a low-mile piece of history keep its odometer on the skinny end and tell tall tales with your friends.

This 1986 Suzuki RG500 has solved the conundrum for you. Odd-sized original wheels with limited modern rubber options? Gone. Horrifying 1980s brakes? Replaced with much less puckery hardware. Primitive front and rear suspension? Jettisoned in favor of springs and shocks that don't wet noodle when things get twisty. But it retains the soul and the guts and the intent that it rolled out of Hamamatsu with.

This RG500 bike is a Canadian import, titled and registered in USA. Motor has been rebuild and tuned by the Gamma guru Rick Lance. It is on first over bore and rebuild with OEM Suzuki spares at no-expense spared. List of upgrades include bored out carbs, tripod LG air-filters with upgraded jets and larger radiator from GSXR. Bike also has LG clutch upgrade, Fox-shocks as the rear suspension with LG ride height strut, 3 and 4.5in wheels with new rubber front and rear respectively. The bike has all braided lines with front brakes upgraded and suspension rebuild with RaceTech springs. Finally its has the famous Tommy Crawford pipes and LanceGamma fiberglass bodywork with beautiful paint.
There are small cracks in the solo seat cowl but can be easily fixed as the bodywork is fiberglass.

Collectors looking for all original bike please move on, this Gamma is built to be ridden with all the period correct mods.

Bike sold as is. No warranty.

Please contact Tom with all inquires and questions. 401-578-3338.

Thank you

The motor rebuild was done by RG500 guru Rick Lance, and the bike is adorned with a raft of LanceGamma mods and parts, which takes the sting out of the asking price somewhat. This is also something of a unicorn: a bike with the fire of a 500cc two stroke and the handling of a sweetheart modern sportbike.

Update 8.11.2018: This bike has sold to an RSBFS reader. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc

First or last of a series, both have their proponents - as originally conceived or the final version. This Aprilia RS250 is one of the early Mk. 1's, a European example brought home by a U.S. serviceman. It's not without miles at over 15K, but undamaged, super-clean, and with recent heavy maintenance.

Not exactly a utilitarian design, the RS250 was a celebration of Aprilia's championships in the 250cc Moto GP, borrowing many of the techniques from the GP bikes. Aprilia's own 250cc two stroke was too finicky for a road machine, and the company contracted with Suzuki to supply their 90-degree twin, with intake, ECU, and exhaust re-designed by Aprilia and good for 72 hp at 12,000 rpm. The aluminum chassis is work of manufacturing art, the twin spars matched by the magnesium banana swingarm in similar natural finish and lacquer. Components are right-sized for the model, upside-down forks but 40mm, dual front disks but 298mm. Unlike later grays with rainbows, the Mk. 1 is almost in camouflage, silver on aluminum, with just a few graphics.

This second owner machine has been treated to a nice life insurance policy, including some top-end work, new clutch, sprockets and chain, and a smooth MPH odometer swap just one tank of fuel off total mileage. Registered and titled in Illinois. From the eBay auction:

It was originally purchased in Germany by a United States Armed Forces personal who brought it back to the United States and had it properly titled in Illinois.

The bike starts easy on one or two kicks, and runs smooth and strong. There are no known issues with the bike. I put in a fresh battery this winter, changed the front brake fluid and bled the brakes, and took it for a shakedown run before I took the pictures for this sale. I have owned the bike since 2012, but I have only put about 300 miles on it. I bought it from a friend who did refresh the engine and suspension, and I will include the receipts for this work.

Major works includes (done at about 12,000 miles):- Top end job including 2 pistons, wrist pins, and gaskets- New clutch - Porting of both heads- Re-Nickel cylinder- New chain and sprockets (14/42)- Fork seal replacement and fork rebuild (by Traxxion Dynamics)

The previous owner swapped the original speedometer that was in kilometers with a used MPH version. At the time of the swap, the original KPH speedometer had 18,080 kilometers on the odometer, the replacement used MPH speedometer had 11,491 miles. Since 18,080 kilometers = 11, 234 miles, the actual miles on the bike is 257 miles less than the current odometer reading. The old speedometer is included in the spares package.

Included with bike is the original passenger seat (see pictures), passenger pegs, the original KPH speedometer, the original clear windshield, and a *new* set of factory style stickers. Also included is two parts and repair manuals, and all receipts and original German government documentation.

The bike has the normal wear for it's age. The paint is nice, but not perfect, and some of the stickers are fading from sun and washing. Please look closely at the pictures for the details of the condition.

Aprilia continued to develop the 250 smoker long after other heavyweights had returned to four-strokes for the road, letting their race bikes improve the showroom models until 2002. Reminiscent of an old scooter until the rev counter hit 7,000, it made phenomenal power per liter, and had the light weight and oversize brakes to dominate any technical track. The list of Aprilia's 250cc riders reads like a Moto GP who's who, including Biaggi, Rossi, Melandri, and Lorenzo. The opening bid has been set at $6,999, please contact Daniel through the eBay auctio.

Update 7.24.2018: SOLD in 21 hours! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc

RSBFS would like to thank SpeedWerks for being a long standing sponsor of the site. Good luck to buyers and seller! -dc

This 1990 Honda NSR250 in Cabin Tobacco racing livery is a 28-year-old new bike, having done just 75 miles. The seller, Speedwerks, have been good friends of the site, and grabbed this one up based on little more than a rumor, some bad photos and a prayer or two. They ended up shipping home an absolute winner, original down to the tires and protective film on the bodywork. The bike looks phenomenal in its rare livery, and the paintwork bears a couple marks from age, but the rest indicates it spent its time on display.

The bike does have some corrosion on various fasteners and metal parts, mostly on the left side of the bike. They take away little, and could probably be cleaned up with limited pain. Speedwerks is leaving that up to the buyer.

From the seller:

We discovered this bike in Japan. Advertised as a Cabin NSR250 SP that was essentially new, never registered and has covered only 75 miles. So we bought it, shipped it and it was exactly that: original down to the protective film on the fairing panels, bar code sticker and original Dunlop tires (I don't need to elaborate on how unsafe they probably are).

Radiator doesn't have a bug or bent fin in it. I would give it a solid 9 outta 10.

Unfortunately at one point on the island it was exposed to some elements. Mainly on one side of the chassis, it shows some small signs of corrosion and pitting. Some rust on exposed metal fittings. Really a shame but I guess garage space is at a premium in Tokyo.

We washed it, fully serviced it and fired her up. Everything works as it should, as if it was just uncrated.

Leave it as she is or put some tires on it be the happy first owner.

All Japanese paperwork included to convert to a US title, though unlikely in to register in California.

$12,000 obo.

Even with the pitting and sketchy tires, this thing is a winner for someone. I'd ride it. But I'm a heathen. Contact Speedwerks for more information or to make an offer.

This Derbi GPR125 was the very end of the line before the Spanish manufacturer, and pretty much everyone else, switched from two to four-stroke engines for their entry-level 125s. As you might expect, this led to the expected decrease in stinky two-stroke smoke and a massive reduction in fun. 125cc two-strokes aren't exactly barn-burners, but they make much more power than four-strokes of equivalent displacement while weighing significantly less, and the change meant the class went from being high-strung funsters with youth-safe limits to the boring, efficient commuters and learner bikes of today.

The two-stroke 125s were bikes for new riders, but they were styled to inspire wannabe racers and incorporated some advanced design elements. The frame was aluminum, and the box-section swingarm was braced, although the 33hp [once derestricted] engine probably didn't really require it. A six speed gearbox meant you could make good progress using the minimal power available, since the bike weighed in under 300lbs wet. And the styling seen here is extremely aggressive and the bike is surprisingly well-finished, with neat details like electric start, turn signals mounted in the mirrors, and an undertail exhaust.

The main issue is that all of the bikes in the class have limited straight-line performance and pretty basic suspension: they were meant to provide budget transportation and, looking past the manic engines, the bikes are fairly uninspiring, upside down forks, modern frame design, and sporty looks aside. Luckily, the geometry is excellent so the handling is good, in spite of the crude components, and the bike uses Yamaha's liquid-cooled TZR125 single, so reliability and parts availability should be no problem.

Look closely, it's the only one you're likely to see here in the states! This is a 2006 Derbi GPR125 Racing. Only a handful of these were brought into the U.S. The engine was sourced from Yamaha, by Derbi, and it's the same engine used in the Euro-spec liquid-cooled Yamaha TZR125R street bike, and the DTR 125 2-stroke dirt bike. It's liquid-cooled, and has 6-speed trans, electric start, power valve, and oil injection, so premixing isn't necessary, just pull up to a gas pump and fill it up. I've only run Motul synthetic in it since I've owned it. If you don't know anything about 2-strokes, you should probably look elsewhere.

I've owned this bike ten years now. It's been unbelievably reliable, but I'm ready to move on to something else. It's currently showing approx 8300 miles on the clock, but I still ride it to work sometimes (although I also have other bikes I ride regularly). The indicated mileage is 662 miles less than actual. The original meters only read in kilometers. I picked up another set that reads in miles and mph. The difference between the two sets (after converting kilometers to miles) was 662 miles, that's the reason for the discrepancy.

The top end was rebuilt about 1500 miles ago, strictly for maintenance, not because there were any problems. I port matched the cylinder to the cases while I had it apart, because the factory matching was very poor. I also cleaned up all the ports. The cylinder is still standard bore and in excellent condition. This bike came in 1st place overall in the 2009 Lake Erie Loop, completing 659 miles in 11 hours 16 minutes. That's WFO across Canada for hours. If that's not a testament to reliability, I don't know what is! And it won by a long shot! http://www.lakeerieloop.org/race-results/2009-rr.html

The list of mods/upgrades/spare parts is long, so buckle up! Besides the top end work already mentioned, the stock carb was replaced with a Keihin PWK D-slide, it has Boysen dual-stage reeds, heavy duty clutch springs, a 3-degree advance key, and an Arrow undertail exhaust with titanium muffler. I also have for it a hand-built Jim Lomas side-exit pipe with a carbon fiber end can. Only ten of these pipes were built, and this one is serial numbered 007! (Just lucky) I also have a spare set of lowers that have been modified to clear this pipe. The air injection pump and associated plumbing have been removed. I think that wraps up the engine part of the program.

The front brake disc was replaced with a full floating wave rotor from Metrakit. The rear sprocket is a custom made, lightened aluminum sprocket. The bike came with no helmet lock from the factory, so I was able to add one from a Yamaha YSR50. The crazy heavy steel rear brake stay arm was replaced with a custom made aluminum one. The stock plastic shifter was replaced with an aluminum one from an Aprilia. The rear pegs and peg hangers have been removed, as has the long stock rear mudguard, and small LED turn signals were installed to clean up the rear end. The orange stripes on the rims are just rim tape. You can remove it in five minutes if you don't like it. The bike tips the scales around 285 lbs with a full tank of fuel. I also added a Sigma bicycle computer. They're super accurate, and you get a second trip meter in the deal. The stock windscreen was replaced with a Puig double-bubble screen (an incredibly nice piece!). From the factory, one headlight is for low-beam, one for high-beam. The only time both are on is when you hit the flash-to-pass switch. I added two relays, so now when you hit that stitch, both will come on and stay on, until you hit it again. I also installed headlight bulbs that are slightly higher wattage than stock. This was done a long time ago and there have been no problems. I'm a fanatic about NOT making mods that can't be reversed, so everything can be put back to stock if you choose, although I think all these mods are for the better. I have ALL the stock parts, except for the stock muffler, and stock front brake rotor.

I have a HUGE amount of spare parts for this bike (I'm a motorcycle hoarder). I have a bunch of spare bodywork, some electrical parts, spare factory decals, all the stock parts that were removed, and other misc odds and ends.

The swingarm stand down in the photos is NOT included in the auction. The bike has a regular side stand.

The common wear items, like tires, brake pads, and chain are in usable condition, but are nearing the end of their service life. Battery is in very good condition. The bike always starts easily, always goes, and there are no other issues I'm aware of, other than what I just mentioned. And since I know someone is going to ask, I've had it over 80 mph on flat ground with my 165 lb self on it.

The bike has a clear Ohio street motorcycle title.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I challenge you to find another one of these for sale in the U.S. So please, keep it real. I'll be happy to help with shipping from my end, but this is totally at the buyer's expense, and must be agreed upon ahead of purchase. Local pickup is available. Please ask your questions before you bid! I reserve the right to end the auction early, as the bike is also listed for sale locally.

Well you can't say that the seller isn't providing plenty of detail in that listing, and the $4,500 asking price frankly seems like a screaming deal for such a cool and unusual bike. The main issue here is that it's obviously very limited in terms of function: good looks aside, it's still pretty slow, especially on US roads if you no longer have the physique of a 17-year old.

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